The DAX began the trading day on Thursday morning in the red. Around 9:30 a.m., the leading index was calculated at roughly 24,970 points, which represented a drop of 0.7 percent compared to the closing value of the previous day. Among the top performers were Daimler Truck, Rheinmetall, and RWE, while Infineon, Symrise, and Bayer registered at the bottom of the stock listing.
One of the central themes dominating the day’s market was the European Central Bank’s (ECB) decision on interest rates. Thomas Altmann from QC Partners noted that the ECB was expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged today. He emphasized that what was more critical than the rate decision itself was the possibility of the ECB verbally signalling a rate hike for September. Currently, the market is pricing in a near 100 percent probability of a September increase.
Following yesterday’s successful start to the German reporting season through the Deutsche Börse, Altmann added that SAP, the highest-weighted DAX company, would be releasing its quarterly figures today. However, he warned that investors would have to wait until the close of Wall Street for these reports. He concluded that the reporting season still held the potential to generate increased volatility in Germany.
The European common currency showed some strength on Thursday morning, with one euro costing 1.1425 US dollars, meaning a dollar was available for 0.8753 euros. Meanwhile, the price of oil increased. At 9 a.m. German time, a barrel of Brent crude from the North Sea was trading at 97.59 US dollars, marking a 3.7 percent rise from the close of the prior trading day.
